Raymond plans new fabric for women's Western wear

Having made a foray into woman's wear under the Be: brand, Raymond is now looking at the possibility of introducing a woman's fabric. The worsted-suiting brand targeted at the `complete man' is now being extended to the fair sex. A new woman's fabric is being explored by the textile major, to cater to Western garments.

Its advertising agency RK Swamy BBDO is already working on the project and the thought process of initiating a fabric brand for women's Western wear is already on.

According to Ms Paulomi Dhawan, Director, Media, Raymond, "Raymond has already made a foray into woman's wear under Be:. There could be a possibility of making a woman's fabric under Raymond and we are looking at jackets which could be made from the same fabric."

The new woman's fabric from Raymond is expected to cater to workingwomen who are looking at wearing suits to work.

Besides, Be: is already sourcing some amount of fabric from Raymond, although most of the couture garments mostly comprise linen.

"We are already sourcing some denim and knitwear from Raymond for the Be: collection,'' says Mr Anirudh Deshmukh, Vice-President, Raymond.

Currently, Raymond has segmented its fabric targeting the youth. It is skewing its offerings towards the youth who are expected to wear its fabric for different occasions.

Meanwhile Be:, its prêt designer store for woman is looking at a new business model through its new service - Be: transformed.

According to the company, the most important thing in today's world is brand image and its how you market yourself that matters at the end of the day.

Every successful person has taken this as a very important tool and gained that extra advantage. It is first impressions that form the last impressions. So being able to portray what you want to be is very important. That is what we are trying to achieve at Be: to transform the person you look to the one you aspire to be, according to the company.

Adds Mr Dhawan, "Currently, `Be: transformed' is a free service being offered in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai at the Be: stores. It could become a business model in future."